THE CURRICULUM

The 29th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll Of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools Illustration by Fred Bell

One question that quickly surfaces in any discussion of school reform is the extent to which the curriculum needs to be changed to meet today's needs. This question was explored in the 1982 poll. At that time a plurality (42%) expressed the view that the curriculum did meet the needs of the day. Fifty percent of public school parents agreed. In this year's poll, however, 54% of respondents say they think the curriculum needs to be changed. Public school parents now call for change by a 53% to 46% margin. Groups most likely to feel the need for change include nonwhites (65%), 18- to 29-year-olds (64%), and clerical and sales personnel (65%).

The question:

Do you think the curriculum in the public schools in your community needs to be changed to meet today's needs, or do you think it already meets today's needs?

	National Totals		No Children in School		Public School Parents		Nonpublic School Parents
	'97 %	'82 %	'97 %	'82 %	'97 %	'82 %	'97 %	'82 %
Needs to be changed	54	36	54	33	53	42	65	46
Already meets needs	39	42	36	38	46	50	30	44
Don't know	7	22	10	29	1	8	5	10

Curriculum 'Basics'

In every public school forum conducted by Phi Delta Kappa during the 1996-97 academic year, there was agreement that the schools should teach the ''basics.'' The ensuing discussions, however, suggested that there might be a difference of opinion as to what the ''basics'' included. This year's poll asked respondents to define the term. The responses indicate that mathematics (named by 90%) and English (named by 84%) constitute the heart of the ''basics.'' This seems close to the traditional three R's. Large percentages of respondents would also add science (44%) and history/U.S. government (38%).

A word of caution is required here. The fact that the public wants the basics taught and defines them narrowly should not be interpreted to mean that people do not value other subjects and other parts of the curriculum. In fact, the public assigns great importance even to extracurricular activities (as a later question shows). What seems clear is that, while the public sees teaching the so-called basics as a central mission, it has many other expectations of its public schools as well.

The question:

People have different ideas as to what constitutes the so-called basic subjects in school. Would you name the school subjects that you consider to be the basics?

	National Totals %	No Children in School %	Public School Parents %	Nonpublic School Parents %
Mathematics	90	89	91	93
English	84	84	84	91
Science	44	41	49	53
History/U.S. government	38	36	40	50
Geography	8	9	8	4
Computer training	8	8	8	12
Physical education	7	7	9	11
Art	5	6	5	8
Social studies	5	4	7	4
Foreign language	5	4	6	13
Music	3	3	3	1
Health education	2	2	4	4
Vocational training	1	2	1	*
Career education	1	1	1	*
Business	1	1	1	2
Other	8	8	7	7
Don't know	1	2	1	2
*Less than one-half of 1%.

Placement of the Gifted and Talented

Whether students who are judged to be gifted and talented should be placed in separate classes is an issue that has implications beyond what is good for gifted and talented students. There are those who argue that removing the gifted and talented from the regular classroom eliminates important role models and results in lower performance on the part of those remaining in the regular classroom. With this in mind, poll planners included a question on the topic in this year's poll. A small majority (52%) of the public supports the placement of gifted and talented students in separate classes. This response takes added significance from the fact that 66% of poll respondents also said they believe that grouping students according to ability will improve student achievement a great deal or quite a lot.

The question:

How do you feel about the placement of gifted and talented students in the local public schools? In your opinion, should gifted and talented students be placed in the same classes as other students, or should they be placed in separate classes?

	National Totals %	No Children in School %	Public School Parents %	Nonpublic School Parents %
Placed in the same classes	44	44	44	44
Placed in separate classes	52	51	52	51
Don't know	4	5	4	5
*Less than one-half of 1%.

Importance of Extracurricular Activities

The importance of extracurricular activities has been explored in previous polls. In 1978, 45% of the public judged extracurricular activities to be very important. That figure fell to 31% in 1984, rose to 39% in 1985, and then jumped to 63% in this year's poll. Percentages vary only a little among the groups sampled.

The question:

I'd like your opinion about extracurricular activities such as the school band, dramatics, sports, and the school newspaper. How important are these to a young person's education -- very important, fairly important, not too important, or not at all important?

	National Totals %	No Children in School %	Public School Parents %	Nonpublic School Parents %
Very important	63	64	62	58
Fairly important	27	26	29	37
Not too important	8	8	7	5
Not at all important	2	2	2	*
Don't know	*	*	*	*
*Less than one-half of 1%.

National Totals	1997 %	1985 %	1984 %	1978 %
Very important	63	39	31	45
Fairly important	27	41	46	40
Not too important	8	14	18	9
Not at all important	2	3	4	4
Don't know	*	3	1	2
*Less than one-half of 1%.

The Role of Interscholastic Sports

Previous polls have not dealt extensively with the role of interscholastic sports in the school program. However, this year's poll included three questions. The first asked about the emphasis placed on such sports as football and basketball. A small majority (53%) of the public believes that the current emphasis is about right. However, 39% feel there is too much emphasis. Public school parents (58%) are a little more inclined than the average to think the present emphasis is appropriate.

In a follow-up question, there was virtual unanimity (96%) on the question of requiring minimum grades and school attendance for participation in sports. When asked how high that minimum should be, 96% would require a grade-point average of C or higher. Men and women tend to take a slightly different view, with only 35% of men suggesting a minimum of an A or a B while 51% of women would require these higher grades.

The first question:

What is your opinion about the way sports, such as football and basketball, are handled in the public schools in your community? Do you feel that there is too much emphasis on sports, not enough emphasis on sports, or about the right amount of emphasis in the local schools?

	National Totals %	No Children in School %	Public School Parents %	Nonpublic School Parents %
Too much emphasis	39	43	33	36
Not enough emphasis	5	4	7	8
About right amount	53	50	58	54
Don't know	3	3	2	2

The second question:

Do you feel that high school students who participate in sports should or should not be required to maintain a minimum grade-point average and school attendance record in order to participate in interscholastic sports?

	National Totals %	No Children in School %	Public School Parents %	Nonpublic School Parents %
Should be required	96	96	96	99
Should not be required	3	3	4	1
Don't know	1	1	*	*
*Less than one-half of 1%.

The third question:

What average grade do you think should be required for participation in interscholastic sports?

	National Totals %	No Children in School %	Public School Parents %	Nonpublic School Parents %
A	3	3	2	4
B	41	42	41	30
C	52	51	55	59
D	2	2	1	5
FAIL	*	*	*	*
Don't know	2	2	1	2
*Less than one-half of 1%.

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Last updated: 25 August 1997
URL: http://www.pdkintl.org/kpoll97g.htm
Contact: bucheri@pdkintl.org

Copyright 1997 Phi Delta Kappan